Discarded: Should organic farmers be included in the 2007 Farm Bill?

issue discarded

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My understanding is not that organic farmers are explicitly excluded from the farm bill, just that they want a bigger share of funding because they say a lot of research and extra work, etc., is entailed in the switch from conventional to organic farming. Therefore, this issue isn't very precise either.

I think we're better off working with the other issue that Jacki disfavors, because it's more general and will render this issue redundant. Also, this issue has the built-in obsolescence problem. In five months it won't even be 2007 anymore, and where does that leave us?

i thought that  organic farmers were not included in the farm bill at all as it stands now ...

There you go.  Now this is an "acceptable" way to incorporate your beloved "Farm Bill" issue.

Wait, the argument was over how much of the pie they were going to get, not whether or not they should be included.  Should we still ask if they should be included? 

i proposed this issue because the proposed issue we currently have on whether organic farmers should receive add'l subsidies, in my view, is imprecise.  Here's what the organic farmers are trying to get under the Farm Bill.

"I want to make it really clear. The transition to organic farming is challenging," said Faye Jones, Executive Director of the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service, or MOSES.

So, to make that transition a little easier, MOSES is asking for three things in the next farm bill:

1. Increased spending on organic agriculture research, education and information.
2. More financial help for farmers when they pay for certification as organic
3. Full funding for the Conservation Security Program (CSP), a USDA program for working farms that isn't strictly for organic farms.

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